Under the new policy, government agencies must adopt cloud where it is "fit for purpose, provides adequate protection of data and delivers value for money" when obtaining new ICT services or replacing existing services.

"Data shows there has been only modest use of cloud services by government agencies to date," the policy states.

"Cloud procurements in AusTender have totalled approximately $4.7 million since July 2010, and the Data Centre as a Service multi-use list has reported cloud contracts totalling approximately $1.5m since October 2012.

"To put this in context, the Australian Government spends approximately $6 billion a year on ICT. These figures demonstrate that agencies have made limited progress in adopting cloud. A significant opportunity exists for agencies to increase their use of cloud services through the Australian Government Cloud Computing Policy."

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